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Once Again, Freeman Is Schiano’s QB

July 3rd, 2013

When Bucs beat writer Woody Cummings of The Tampa Tribune, vacationing at home, killing time golfing, gardening and watching his moribund Cubs, heard Bucs coach Greg Schiano give Bucs quarterback Josh Freeman a vote of confidence this week on NFL Network, it came as no surprise to him though it seemed to surprise others.

This was one Bucs topic discussed when Cummings appeared on “The Fabulous Sports Babe Show” Tuesday night on WHFS-FM 98.7.

Fabulous Sports Babe: What about Schiano saying “We have only one quarterback?”

Woody Cummings: They have, like, five on the roster or four on the roster. You know what, I am not surprised by that I think he really – I have to be honest. I think he really misjudged the way that whole situation was going to be taken when he first said, “I just don’t know about Josh, I don’t know if he is our guy,” at the end of the season last year. I think he mischaracterized or misjudged just how that was going to be taken by the media and the fans and ever since, he has been trying to come off that statement. I thought he did it at the combine, he said basically the same thing. “Look, we went back and looked at the tape and think Josh Freeman is our guy.” I know they drafted Mike Glennon because they have to have somebody back there to develop just in case he isn’t the guy and proven to be not.

I am not surprised. It is a variation of a theme. It is the same thing he said at the combine. “We think Josh Freeman is our quarterback and we think he can take us where we want to go” which I assume it is a Super Bowl. He has been saying that, and variations of it, ever since. He said it after the draft. He said it at minicamp. He said it at OTAs. Now he said it again to the NFL Network. So every time he is asked the same question he gives the same answer which, you know what, I applaud him for consistency.

I just hope he is right. I just hope Josh Freeman proves he is the quarterback. I hope Josh Freeman, for his sake and the Bucs sake, goes out and proves to everybody, “Yeah, I was the quarterback all along here.”

It is almost like Schiano has been backtracking ever since he demanded competition at quarterback in his 2012 season-ending press conference. Like he let the back door open and a pesky gecko got through and Schiano’s been chasing the evasive reptile ever since.

Joe has written this time and again: the best chance for the Bucs to make the postseason is if Freeman has a good year, not if Mike Glennon is learning on the job.

Think coach finally realized that the easiest thing to do was to say what everybody wanted to hear. I’m sure he got tired of the uproar for even mentioning that he liked having competition at every position, including QB. Which, btw, is not an indictment of Josh, just a stated fact that the coach like to see players compete. Totally blown out of porportion, but unfortunately that’s our society today.

Seriously, does anyone truly believe that if a coach says, right after the season, “I just don’t know about Josh, I don’t know if he is our guy,” that he was just joking. What he said then was what he meant, what he says now is lip service to back pedal from the uproar it caused.

He never said “I just don’t know about Josh, I don’t know if he is our guy”. That was Roy Cummings weak attempt at paraphrasing. What Schiano did say is that the team needs competition at every position, including QB. Who could argue with that? His words were twisted to cast doubt on Josh, but he never actually said those words…..SMH

I have never heard these words come out of Schiano’s mouth. I think Cummings may have been paraphrasing here. If that was really said by Schiano then this “controversy” would be WAY bigger than it is right now.

Freeman is your starting QB for 2013. Like it or not. He is better than half of the league’s starting QBs. He is inconsistent. Yes. But only the top five, most elite QBs in the league don’t have consistency issues. If Freeman needs to be a top five QB for this team to succeed then we are going nowhere. We were within one score of all but two losses last year. That is with the 29th ranked defense.

If the defense is able to play anywhere close to the offense’s level this year, we will win a lot more games. That alone should have us at least at 9-7. Although, it is probably unreasonable to expect the defense to go from 29th to top ten in one offseason but anything is possible!

Glennon will be starting after the by week and take us to the playoffs.”

Dream (nightmare) on, troll. So many of you guys want perfection, and you’re not gonna get it at any position. I wonder if any of you will revisit these sorta remarks if Free does well…nah prolly not…you heard it here first !!

A “little birdie told me” that Glennon is not what they hoped he would be!
Not really, but remember how Schiano said he wanted competition, and now appears to be backpedaling ?
It is almost like something made them realize that Freeman is ALL they have, all of the sudden.

Playoffs are a team goal. If Freeman plays bad AND we miss the playoffs, then he is probably gone. If we go 9-7 and the defense falls apart again and we miss the playoffs, no, Freeman is not going anywhere. Freeman has to do worse than his 2012 season to get canned. Regardless of the win-loss column.

People in their positions, jobs etc, are expected to get BETTER every year…..UNTIL they peak.

if he does not do better he’ll be canned like tuna fish. As a veteran headhunter I can tell you without much doubt that what I say is true, because I work with VP’s and such daily…. I know what they really think. and it’s not what they tell the guy they are about to replace.

He is on a VERY, VERY short leash, whether Schiano says it or not. he’s done if he chokes more than 3 games this year.

I also find it hard to believe that a “veteran headhunter” spends this much time in a comment section on a blog. Besides that, equating a job as an athlete who plays a game to one at a corporate level that manages a business is non sense. The VP of a company usually has a lot more control on the outcome of his company than a player does. Drew Brees went 7-9 last year and he still has a job.

Also, yes, if Freeman matches his 2012 production, 9th best offense in the league, he will still have a job. I don’t know why that is so hard to grasp.

Ever wonder if the reason a QB has a better record against non-playoff teams than against playoff teams is because non-playoff teams lose more games and automatically give more wins to all QBs that play against them and playoff teams win more games and opposing QBs have fewer wins against them? Crazy concept.

For example, Aaron Rodgers, after week 1 last year, was 0-1 against playoff teams. Of course we wouldn’t have known that yet, because nobody knew if San Francisco was definitely going to make the playoffs or not at that point. But San Francisco won 11 games last year. Only 4 QBs got a win against them (1 game was a tie).

sorry WCB, I own the company, so I spend my time however I wish. This is the only place I post, so I don’d too much time on it.

On that note, that’s why my posts are so short. I find it hilarious when someone types a 6 page analysis on here….those are the time wasters.

back to jfro. He is their VP and Schiano is the President. jfro is the face of the franchise and the single person who can make or break this season as all the cards are lined up and if we fail it will be on him. he falters it effects the entire organization.. he falters this year he’s done.

The best description i heard of Jfro-6pak was from Pat Kirwan and Tim Ryan who said he was ” Just good enough to let you down.” Yes Jfro-6pak is all we have right now. But that is why the Bucs have gone nowhere the last 4 years.

It’s hard to not to grasp for you because you are holding on to “9th best in the league” for dear life.

Let’s break that down a little bit. 9th best in the league is the overall offensive output. Not just Freeman. Could it be that the players around him are great and he is… not so much?

If wins and losses can’t be put on Freeman then neither can “9th best offense”. If you want to use valid stats then let go of the crutch and compare solely Freeman’s stats to the rest of the QBs in the league as that would be more accurate to him as a player.

robert: 4th best in rushing yards, any receiving yards to get the yards from scrimmage total need also be attributed to Freeman, as he threw the passes. Still pretty good though, and the offense overall was very good both passing and running last year.

Couch: I do credit the “players around him” as well. Vincent Jackson and Mike Williams were both extremely good last year. Dallas Clark was decent. Martin helped both in pass game and was incredible in the run game. The O-line was makeshift, so I won’t say the “players around him” were excellent when it comes to O-line, adequate, yes. Slot WR was also adequate. All contribute to the #9 overall offense in the league. All contribute to the 7-9 record that went with it.

That said, having a potent offense doesn’t mean wins. The Saints had the #2 offense in the NFL last year and were 7-9. The Lions were 3rd on offense and 4-12. Cowboys were #6 and 8-8. Of course, the Saints and Bucs missed the playoffs because they had 2 of the worst defenses in the league. But what happened with the Lions and Cowboys? They were middle of the pack on defense at #13 and #19 respectively. Oh yeah, both the Cowboys and Lions defenses gave up more points than our defense did, and our offense scored more than both of those teams as well. That’s what usually counts in these games is points. They don’t tally up yards and say the team with the most is the winner. Gotta score the points. Sometimes it also has to do with the schedule (luck). If you face 5 playoffs bound teams, you are less likely to score more points than the opponent more often than if you play only 2 playoff bound teams. Strength of opponent also factors in to wins/losses.

Is it starting to become clear yet how the offense (including Josh Freeman) could have been pretty darned good and the team (repeat TEAM) could still miss the playoffs due to other factors?

I never once said the defense didnt count. I have said time and time again that our defense was the MAIN culprit in our losing season. But its not the only culprit.

As easy as it is to say that “with a better defense we would of made the playoffs last year”. It can just as easily be said the “With a consistent Josh Freeman we could of made the playoffs as well”. Theres no doubt with an improved defense we got a hell of a chance at the playoffs now. But some people want to suggest that our offense was on par with New Orleans, which is a real playoff offense, that our offense doesn’t need to improve, and that is simple not true. Our offense must get better despite what the stats say.

With better play from defense, the offense should have several chances with the ball every game, just imagine a few 3 and outs a game? Need to figure out back up RB, if nothing else should be able to run the ball

Why do so many in print, online, and on the radio keep talking about this???? It is not rocket science. Freeman has all the tools and same coaches for 2years now. It is his team. If he fails and the team isn’t 10+ wins OR in the playoffs and it is MOSTLY his fault, they look elsewhere and he doesn’t get his contract.

Every time someone utters the word “QB” everyone wants to stir up controversy. There isn’t any. Like ANY other player, he is given a chance and if he doesn’t prove it, he is gone. This is the FINAL year of that.
It is really pretty simple. PLEASE stop trying to read between the lines every time someone from 1 BUC Place makes any kind of statement regarding Freeman or any other QB.

If this is how you really think then I hope the Glazers, GM, Schiano don’t agree because that is the worst logic I have ever seen. “Yeah he is good, but he is not the best.” <<< Is that REALLY the mentality you take with the QB? You would get rid of an average quarterback for the EXTREMELY SMALL CHANCE of finding "the best quarterback"? Really?

The blame percentages: 50/50…. Freeman gets half and so does the Defense. The only reason the QB gets half is because of the impact a QB can (should consistently) have.

So lets get this straight. Each defender gets ~4.5% of the blame for seven wins and nine losses. The quarterback gets 50%. Each offensive lineman gets 0%. Each WR gets 0%. Doug Martin gets 0%. The coaching staff gets 0%. Is this correct? 12 players decided the outcome of the 2012 season without any other influence?

If the QB is responsible for 50% then how did Brees’ Saints only manage seven wins? Brees is universally considered an elite QB, right? How is it possible to have a losing record with an elite QB? For that matter, how come the best QB in the league didn’t even play in the Super Bowl?

I REALLY want to know how this works in your fantasy land where the QB is the only player on the field for the offense that matters.

Your logic is flawed from the beginning stevek. You have no concept of the word “team”. You have to be willing to settle for “good” or “above average” until a sure fire upgrade is available because if you just keep throwing out good players in search of elite ones you will never contend for anything.

I would also like to point out that Drew Brees and the Saints had a four game losing streak in 2012. So did your precious Andy Dalton. The Panthers had a five game losing streak (shocker). Still think franchise QBs don’t let losing streaks happen?

Couch, sorry if I jumped into a discussion I wasn’t a part of. All I wanted to point out was that there were better offenses that also missed the playoffs, there were better offenses with better defenses that missed the playoffs, and there were better QBs than Freeman that missed the playoffs. Why? Because of so many other factors going into it. Schedule, coaching, defense, offense, O-line, run game, QB, WRs, injuries, refs, and so on and so forth.

SteveK, losing streaks happen to teams. Freeman didn’t “let” them happen, they happened to the team. It’s not like Freeman chose to play poorly during a 5 game stretch. It’s not like Freeman told the defense to give up those 4th quarter scores. Freeman wanted to win those games as much as he wanted to win every other game. Some games just don’t go that way, some Freeman is “off”, some the D is sloppy, some the opponent is just flat out better. Because they happen during 5 consecutive games does not say Freeman “let” that happen.

“I have said time and time again that our defense was the MAIN culprit in our losing season.”

This is the quote I am referring to. I equated “main” to most. As in, more than 50%. Maybe that is not what you meant but that is how I interpreted it. And no, I don’t give 150% of the blame to anything. Every part of the team shares responsibility. My point was that the defense caused us to lose A LOT more games than the offense. All I am trying to say is that, statistically, in almost every measurable category, the offense was in the top half of the league and the defense was in the bottom half.

I am not saying Freeman is elite. I am saying when part of your team comes within fourteen yards of a ~100 year record of futility it may just make it a little more difficult on the rest of the team. Even with that burden, the Bucs managed to win seven games. If Freeman was as bad as you think AND the defense was historically bad, then where did the seven wins come from?

Robert and Realist: I would find your posts, even the critiques on # 5, much more credible if you two would stop echoing each other with the juvenile “JFro” moniker. Perhaps subconsciously you want Josh to lose his job so you can sign him up as a client to find him suitable employment. Of course you already think his days as a QB are over. I can just hear Robert on the phone trying to list the virtues of Josh Freeman to a potential employer. That would be hysterical when all Robert could come up with is, “Well, he’s tall…..might make a good painter or drywall hanger. He does at least show up for work even though he sucks when he gets there. I guess that’s about it. ” Oh wait, he does a good Michael Jackson impersonation. He could get attention standing on the sidewalk holding up a sign.”